With the champion acknowledging him as the frontrunner for a title shot, [autotag]Darren Till[/autotag] knows what’s at stake in his upcoming fight.
Till (18-3-1 MMA, 6-3-1 UFC) faces [autotag]Marvin Vettori[/autotag] in the main event of UFC on ABC 2 on April 10, a pivotal middleweight clash that could cement him as the No. 1 contender for champ [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag].
With Adesanya (20-1 MMA, 9-1 UFC) failing to capture a second title by falling short against light heavyweight champ Jan Blachowicz at UFC 259, he has shifted his focus to 185 pounds, and a few top-ranked challengers await.
On the other side of the middleweight bracket is a matchup between former champion Robert Whittaker and Paulo Costa just a week after Till competes, but it appears Adesanya has his eyes on a fresh matchup. Having already beat Vettori, Whittaker and Costa, Till is the only man in the equation that Adesanya has yet to face.
Although Till has split his first two appearances at 185 pounds, he remains one of the most popular and sought-out fighters on the roster. He too is eager to lock horns with Adesanya, but insists his focus right now is solely on the hungry and streaking Vettori (16-4-1 MMA, 6-2-1 UFC).
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“I think me and Marvin are knocking on the door,” Till told ESPN. “It’s like a little mini-middleweight competition right now, the same as lightweight, so it definitely excites me. To just be at the top and to be getting these chances and knowing what’s next and all that – but I’ve got a steamroller in front of me, and I don’t want to look too far ahead. I know Izzy’s calling me out, practically, and stuff like that. I’ve called him out for a long time. We were destined to fight even when I was a welterweight. He called me out then, when I was at the top of welterweight.
“Right now, I’m just focused on myself. I’m doing my own thing. But this is the thing: I think it’s one of these fights with me and Izzy, I think it’s magician vs. magician. Who’s got, like, the Kryptonite to beat the other guy’s striking, you know? I’ve said it for the longest time, I’m one of the best strikers in the UFC. And I think Izzy is definitely there. He could be ahead the way’s he’s been fighting – he’s ahead of me right now.”
A long and rangy striker himself, the stylistic matchup with Adesanya intrigues Till. He’s confident he has the tools to dethrone “The Last Stylebender” and being the champion’s first desired choice, Till is grateful to be in the position he’s in.
“I just feel like I’ve got the specifics to beat him, and I’m sure he’s up for the challenge and he thinks he’s got the specifics to beat me, so I think it’s going to be a good fight when it happens,” Till said. “It’s good to be getting called out by the champion. Usually, it’s the challengers calling out the champion. The champion’s calling me out. I must be doing something right.”
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